A prize-winning quantum physicist says a spiritual reality
is veiled from us, and science offers a glimpse behind that veil. So how do
scientists investigating the fundamental nature of the universe assess any role
of God, asks Mark Vernon.
The Templeton Prize, awarded for contributions to
"affirming life's spiritual dimension", has been won by French
physicist Bernard d'Espagnat, who has worked on
quantum physics with some of the most famous names in modern science.
Quantum physics is a hugely successful theory: the
predictions it makes about the behaviour of subatomic particles are
extraordinarily accurate. And yet, it raises profound puzzles about reality
that remain as yet to be understood.
What is Quantum
Physics?
·
It
originated in work conducted by Max Planck and Albert Einstein at start of 20th
Century
·
They
discovered that light comes in discrete packets, or quanta, which we call
photons
·
The
Heisenberg Uncertainty principle says certain features of subatomic particles
like momentum and position cannot be known precisely at the same time
·
Gaps
remain, like attempts to find the 'God Particle' that
scientists hope to spot in the Large Hadron
Collider. It is required to give other particles mass
The bizarre nature of quantum physics has attracted some
speculations that are wacky but the theory suggests to some serious scientists
that reality, at its most basic, is perfectly compatible with what might be
called a spiritual view of things.
Some suggest that observers play a key part in determining
the nature of things. Legendary physicist John Wheeler said the cosmos
"has not really happened, it is not a phenomenon, until it has been
observed to happen."
In an
effort to seek the answers to the "meaning of physics", I spoke to
five leading scientists.
The Atheist:
Nobel-prize winning physicist Steven Weinberg is well-known
as an atheist. For him, physics reflects the "chilling impersonality"
of the universe. He would be thinking here of, say, the vast tracts of empty
space, billions of light years across, that mock human meaning. He says:
"The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it seems
pointless." So for Weinberg, the notion that there might be an overlap
between science and spirituality is entirely mistaken.
The Sceptic:
The Astronomer Royal and President of the Royal Society, Martin
Rees, shows a distinct reserve when speculating about
what physics might mean, whether that be pointlessness or meaningfulness. He
has "no strong opinions" on the interpretation of quantum theory:
only time will tell whether the theory becomes better understood. "The
implications of cosmology for these realms of thought may be profound, but
diffidence prevents me from venturing into them," he has written. In
short, it is good to be humble in the face of the mysteries that physics throws
up.
The Platonist:
The Beliver:
John Polkinghorne worked on
quantum physics in the first part of his career, but then took up a different
line of work: he was ordained an Anglican priest. For him, science and religion
are entirely compatible. The ordered universe science reveals is only what
you'd expect if it was made by an orderly God. However, the two disciplines are
different. He calls them "intellectual cousins". "Physics is
showing the world to be both more supple and subtle, but you need to be
careful," he says. If you want to understand the meaning of things you
have to go beyond science, and the religious direction is, he argues, the best.
The Pantheist:
Brian Swimme is a cosmologist, and
with the theologian Thomas Berry, wrote a book called The Universe Story: From
the Primordial Flaring Forth to the Ecozoic Era. It
is avidly read by individuals in New Age and ecological circles, and tells the
scientific story of the universe, from the Big Bang to the emergence of human
consciousness, but does so as a new sacred myth. Swimme
believes that "the universe is attempting to be felt", which makes
him a pantheist, someone who believes the cosmos in
its entirety can be called God.
Mark Vernon is author of After Atheism: Science, Religion and the Meaning of Life